Citizens and Subjects

"Citizens and Subjects" is an essay on the nature and condition of democracy in Britain at the end of the twentieth century. Tony Wright examines the commonly held view that Britain is a model democracy and exposes it as a dangerous myth that inhibits both radical thought and constitutional change. He reveals the wide gulf between the tradition of political and constitutional thought in Britain and the contemporary political reality. In the last few years, constitutional issues have reappeared on the political agenda in Britain. "Citizens" "and Subjects" discusses the reforms necessary to convert Britain's centralized and closed system into a pluralistic and participatory democracy. Wright argues that practical reforms will only be possible when linked to a new tradition of radical constitutional thought.

Wright, Tony

Preface, 1 The image and the system, 2 The place and the problem, 3 Democracy and the constitution: New wine, old bottles, 4 Dominocracy, 5 Doubts and discontents, 6 Representative government revisited, 7 Responsible government revisited, 8 Political culture: Democracy unvisited, 9 Democracy and ideology: The left, 10 Democracy and ideology: The right, 11 The missing traditions, 12 Centralism and localism, 13 Consumers, producers and citizens, 14 Reconstructions I: Representation, 15 Reconstructions II: Accountability, 16 Reconstructions III: Participation, 17 Reconstructions IV: Openness, 18 The end of politics?, 19 Becoming citizens, 20 Postscript on prospects, Notes and references, Index